Between 1983 and 2005, the locomotive was sold multiple times to various different owners in Connecticut, Michigan, and Colorado who have attempted to restore No.

148 locomotive and restored it to operating condition by 2020 for use in excursion service on their South Central Florida Express shortline railroad as part of their heritage tourist passenger train named the Sugar Express, touring visitors all around the Lake Okeechobee counties.

141-150) built by American Locomotive Company (ALCO) of Richmond, Virginia in April 1920, and delivered to the Florida East Coast Railway (FEC) two months later.

[4][6] During that time, FEC began to retire most of their older 4-6-2 locomotives for scrap or selling them to other railroads in order to recoup their financial losses.

148 remained in service with FEC until June 1952, when it was sold to U.S. Sugar Corporation (USSC) in Clewiston, Florida, where it worked alongside its sister locomotives Nos.

[4][10] In September 1968, it was purchased by Sam Freeman, who restored it to operation in 1970 to use the locomotive in excursion service on the Black River and Western Railroad in Ringoes, New Jersey.

148 was temporarily leased by the Main Line Steam Foundation, and it pulled a doubleheader excursion with Canadian Pacific 972 on the Lehigh Valley (LV) mainline from Bethlehem, Pennsylvania to South Plainfield, New Jersey and return.

[14][15] The foundation planned to retain both locomotives for a second doubleheader excursion on December 6 on the CNJ mainline from Raritan to Bay Head, but No.

148 became inoperable in 1977 and Freeman died in 1983, the locomotive was donated to the Valley Railroad in Essex, Connecticut and was sold off to Bob Carr in Traverse City, Michigan five years later.

148 locomotive was purchased by the Denver and Rio Grande Historical Foundation in Monte Vista, Colorado, who originally planned to continue the locomotive's restoration and operate it for tourist operations on the former Denver and Rio Grande Western branch line between South Fork and Creede, Colorado, but never succeeded it due to the Great Recession in 2008.

[29] In April 2020, after an extensive restoration work with assistance from FMW Solutions, Steam Operations Corporation, and Continental Fabricators Inc, No.

148 to haul the annual Santa Express train loaded with toys donated to children in Moore Haven, Clewiston, Belle Glade, and Port Mayaca.

148 continued to pull more of USSC's scheduled Sugar Express excursions, including sponsorship from the Florida East Coast Railway Society.

148 temporarily wore a six-chime whistle, which was on loan from the Gold Coast Railroad Museum in Miami, Florida, and was originally used on sister locomotive No.